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PIRATES' GLEN 



DUNGEON ROCK. 



BY 



NATHAN AMES, 






Here up the winding stream they bore, 

And burled in their dungeon glen, 
The beauteous captive and the store 
Of gold from murdered men ; — 
Till vengeance came ; though late, at last it came ; 
Blood flowed for blood and deeds without a name ! 

Canto I, Stanza vm. 



BOSTON: 

REDDING & COMPANY. 

1853. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18133, by 

NATHAN AMES, 

In the Clerk's OflSce of the District Court of the District of Massachusettfl. 



W. W. KKLLOGG, PR., LINN. 



DEDICATED 

TO THE 

MEMORY OF MY MOTHER. 



Fond Spirit, was it all a phantasy, 
The dear delusion of a world-sick brain, 
That once, sore-racked upon thy bed of pain, 

Thou didst look up and say, all cheerfully ; — 
' Weep not, my son, Avhen I am gone, for me ; 
Our spirits are united by a chain 
Of kindred links Death cannot rend in twain! 

And, though unseen, thy Mother still shall be 

Thy guardian — near thee !" — From the world of Bliss, 
O, might thy gentle Spirit, hovering now 

Above me, even in thought, vouchsafe for this, 
As for my boyhood babblings, on my brow. 

With smile approving, one maternal kiss — 
It were enough ! — Thou wilt ; for thou art— thou ! 

June, 1853. 



PREFACE. 



Tor the historical foundation of the following poem, the 
■writer is indebted to that highly entertaining and most excel- 
lent work, The History ofLijnn, including Nahant; by Alonzo 
Lewis, — The Lynn Bard. The Pirates' Glen and Dungeon 
Eock are thus described by him : — 

"This year [1658] there was a great earthquake in New 
England, connected with which is the following story. Some 
time previous, on one pleasant evening, a little after sun-set, 
a small vessel was seen to anchor near the mouth of Saugus 
river. A boat was presently lowered from her side, into 
whicli four men descended, and moved up the river a consid- 
erable distance, when they landed and proceeded directly into 
the woods. They had been noticed by only a few individuals; 
but in those early times, when the people were surrounded by 
danger, and easily susceptible of alarm, such an incident 
was well calculated to awaken suspicion, and in the course 
of the evening the intelligence was conveyed to many houses. 
In the morning, the people naturally directed their eyes 
toward the shore, in search of the strange vessel — but she 
was gone, and no trace could be found either of her or her 
singular crew. 

"It was afterward ascertained that, on that morning, one 
of the men at the Iron Works, on going into the foundry, 
discovered a paper, on which was written, that if a quantity 
of shackles, handcuifs, hatchets, and other articles of iron 
manufacture, were made and deposited, with secrecy, in a 



VI PUKFACK. 



certain place in the woods, wliidi was i>anicularly designated, 
an amount of silver, to their full value would be found in 
their jjlace. Tlie articles were Jiuide in a few days, and 
placed in conformity with the directions. On the next 
morning tliey were •,M»ne, ami the money was found accord- 
ing to the promise; but, thou-li a watcli had been kept, no 
vessel was seen. 

"Some months afterward, the four men returned, and 
selected one of the nio-t soda led ami romantic spots in the 
wood? of Saugus, for their abode The place of their retreat 
was a deep,nairow valley, shut in on two sides by high hills 
and craggy, precipitous rocks, and shrouded on the others by 
thick pines, hemlocks, and cedars, between wiiich there was 
only one small sjiot to which the rays of the sun at noon 
could j)evtctrate. On climbing wp the rmle and almost ])er- 
pendicular steps of the rock on the eastern side, the eye 
could command a fiill view of the bay on the south, and a 
prospect of a considerable portion of the surrounding coun- 
try. Tiie place of their retreat has ever since been called the 
Pirates' Glen, and they could not liave selected a spot on the 
coast for many miles, more favoral)Ie for the fiurposes both of 
concealment and observation. Even at this day, when the 
neighl)orhood has becortjc thickly peojjlcd, it is still a lonely 
and desolate place, and probal)ly not one in a hundred of the 
inhabitants lias ever descended into its silent and gloomy 
recess. There the pirates built a small hut, made a garden, 
and dug a well, the appearance of which is still visible. It 
has been supposed that they buried money ; but though peo- 
ple have dug there, and in several other places, none has ever 
been found. 

"After residing there some time, their retreat became 
known, and one of the king's cruisers appeared on the coast' 



PIIEFACK. Vll 



They were traced to tlieir gk'ii.fiiul tluoe of them were taken 
and carried to Enghind, wliere it ij ])roha!)lc they were exe- 
cuted. Tlie other, wliose name was Thomas Vc-al," [called, 
in the poem, Don, and suiii)<)>ed to he a Spaniard.] •'^ es- 
caped to a rock in the wood-;, aliout two miles to t)ie north, 
in whicli was a spacious cavcni, wiicrc the ]>iiates had pre- 
viously deposited some of" ihiir plunder. There the f'uy,itive 
fixed his residence, and j)raiticed the trade of a slioemaker, 
occasionally coming (h>\vn to the village to o!>tain artiiles of 
sustenance. He continued liis resi(lence till the great earth- 
quake this year, when the toji of the rock was loosened, and 
crushed down into the mouth of the cavern, enclosing the 
unfortunate inmate in its unyielding prison. It lias ever 
since heen called the Piriite's Dungeon *' — or J)ungeon Kock. 
Page 14G— 48. Stcoitd Edition. 

There is also a popular tradition that tlie pirates hurled in 
the glen, at the foot of a certain hemlock tree, a beautiful 
female. The rotten stump of the tree may still he )^cen. and 
a hollow beside it, where people have dug in search of hu- 
man hones. 

The Indian name, and that applied by the firstsettlers to 
the city of Lynn, and the region rouml for many miles, was 
Saugus — a word signifying, in the Indian language, great or 
extended. Saugus river, — on whose moM delightful and ro- 
mantic banks flourished, for many years, the first Iron Works 
supplied with native ore, in America. — "has its source in 
Redding pond, about ten miles from the sea" ..." It is very 
crooked in its course, flowing three miles in the distance 
of one. In several places after making a circuitous route 
for half a mile, it returns to within a few rods of rhe place 
■whence it deviated. The harbor, into which it flows, is 
spacious, but shoal, and does not easily admit large vessels." 



Vlll PREFACE. 



A mile, or so, from the river's mouth, across the harbor, lies 
N ah ant. 

It will be seen from this and the notes appended, 
that the principal events and characters of the poem, are his- . 
torical. With such a highl}' romantic and tragical warp of 
truth, I have simply sought to weave but just enough of 
fictitious probability, to make an entertaining Fable for the 
solemn Moral given in the well known story of the Pirates' 
Glen and Dungeon Rock. If I have failed, the fault is mine 
and not the subject's. I have had, at least, the mental dis- 
cipline and pleasure of writing; and can only hope that my 
humble efforts maybe the source of pleasure to the reader; — 
if they are not — he is left at perfect liberty to use the same 
materials and write a story better suited to his fancy. 

Sadgus, 1850. 



The principal Persons represented are as follows : — Don, a 
pirate, and his Companions ; Ross, a London proprietor of 
the Iron Works : Christopher, the agent and adopted child 
to Ross, in love with Arabel ; Na-na-pas-iie-met, Sagamore 
of Lynn ; Ya-wa-ta, daughter to Nanapashemet ; Arabel, 
daughter to Ross, in love with Christopher ; Clorinda, wife 
to Don. 



PIRITES' GLEN MD DIGEON ROl. 



O -A. 3>Jr T O I 



The lonely, dark, secluded Glen — 

Primeval prison of tlie wood, 
The far-famed haunt of Pirate men — 
Still sleeps in solitude ; 
Mute witness of the shameless deeds of old, 
Of captives slain, and bags of buried gold ! 

II. 

Two hundred years have swept away, 

On wings sublime, that savage gloom 
AVild nature wore. White children play 
Above the Indian's tomb, 
And in the black bear's cave ; — all, save the Glen 
Of Pirates, hears the hum of busy men. 

III. 

Still shrouded in funereal shade, — 

A roofless sepulcher, behold ! 
Such as th' Olympian thunderer made. 
Gigantic graves, — up-rolled. 
The encircling rocks arise; above them twine 
The mournful hemlock and the murmuring pine. 
2 



12 MRATES' GLEN [CAN. I. 



IV. 

To mark the flight of time, and see 

The noon-day sun, his rocky mouth 
The dragon Glen, all silently, 
Parts opening to the south. 
Down oozing from tlie crags, a crystal spring 
Flows trickling, noiseless as an angel's wing. 



Here oft the cony comes to drink ; 

The timid partridge leads her brood ; 
Far up the broad, deep, shadowy chink, 
Birds sing, and seek their food : 
Here, too, thirst-driven from the withering brake, 
His slow length coiled the sluggish rattlesnake. 

VI. 

High on the craggy cliffs that toss 

Their tree-clad tops o'er land and bay, — 
The sight, the shade, the downy moss, 
The pilgrim's toil repay : 
Below, meandering Saugus seeks the shore, 
And broad-wing'd gulls above the current soar. 

Yll. 

Here watched the ruthless buccaneer; 
Here heard the heaving ocean pant, 
And saw with eagle eye appear 
Some ship beyond Nahant, — 
Destined, alas ! too soon to be the prey 
Of those dread scourges of the watery way. 



CAN. I.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 13 



Tin. 

Here up tbe winding stream they bore, 

And buried in their dungeon den, 
The beauteous captive and the store 
Of gold from murdered men ; 
Till vengeance came, tho' late, at last, it came ; 
Blood flowed for blood and deeds without a name ! 

IX. 

And often by that lonely Glen 

Have I reclined, and fancied that, 
All shuddering o'er those godless men, 
I heard them, as they sat 
Carousing, or beheld them, through the gloom 
Of night, consign some victim to the tomb ! 

X. 

These were my boyhood thoughts, and fain 

Would I have listened to the tale 
That hangs upon that bloody reign 
Of pirates in the dale ; 
But no one told me ; — still the story grew, 
Brain-nursed : — kind listener, hark; I'll tell it you. 



^ ^»» m 



XI. 

The moon Is up ; the summer night 

Queen-like resumes her glorious reign ; 
Her starry scepter waves with might 
Above her hushed domain. 
The tumbling ocean, calmed, upon the breast 
Of fair Nahant, breathes softly in his re^st. 



14 pirates' glen [can. I. 



XII. 

The sea-gull shields her tender young; 

The tuneful warblers of the wood 
But dream the songs so lately sung, 
And watch their callow brood. 
All, — save the shore, the mournful whip-po-wil. 
The owl, the bat, and beasts of prey, — are still. 

XIII. 

Sut lovelier than the summer night, 

Ya-wa-ta, by the "Swallows' Cave,"(l) 
In expectation drinks delight. 
Deep-musing on the wave ; 
While Na-na-pas-he-met, the Sagamore, (2) 
Her sire, smokes in his wigwam by the shore. 

XIV. 

Not so the fair young Indian ; — she 

Had decked each full, round, tapering limb 
"With plumes and wampum belts, to be 
More beautiful to him, 
For whom — she bounds along the sandy shore. 
She stops — she starts — the phantom of an oar ! 

XV. 

Again, — regardless of the beat 

Of ocean pulses and the pour 
Of waters round those fairy feet 
A sculptor might adore, — 
Upon a sea-worn stone, Ya-wa-ta sits 
Beside the cave ; — seaward her fancy flits : — 



CAN. I.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 15 



XVI. 

" What charms away the white-man youth, 
What mermaid of the deep ? He told, 
This morn, to me in tones of truth, 
That ere the Sun be rolled 
Into his wigwam in the drowsy West, 
High on the sand his wing'd canoe would rest. 

XVII. 

** And then he smiled, and looked on me, 
With eyes so full of tenderness ! 
I love the white man ; — can it be, 
He loves the, red girl less ? 
For fondly parting from the shore, he threw 
This clear, sweet gift : — ' Ya-wa-ta, 't is for you ; * 

XVIII. 

'* He said ; ' and tell thy Sachem sire, 
To-night I smoke the calumet 
Of friendship by the wigwam fire 
Of Na-na-pas-he-met. 
From Saugus' winding stream to Shawmut Bay (3) 
I go, but backward sail by shut of day.' 

XIX. 

" My father chided me to-night. 

Seeming, methought, my soul to see ; 
' Beware ! ' he said ; ' Whose skins are white, 
Hold hearts too black for thee ! ' — 
But, if he love me not, how can it be, 
That he can smile and look so lovingly ? 



16 pirates' glen [can. I. 



XX. 

" The "wliite man's smiles, my child,' — he said, 
* Ah ! trust them not ; tiiey 're traps for thee ! 
He deems thee but a wanton maid ; 
Beware !' — It cannot be. 
Ya-wa-ta feels his smiles alone, and takes 
Alone the pleasing presents that he makes. 

XXI. 

" He told me, that ' beyond the sea, 

He loves some pale-face maiden more, 
A thousand times more fair than me, 
Child of a Sagamore ! ' — 
But, were it so — and would he then be here, 
For twenty moons, from her he loves so dear ? " 

XXII. 

'T was thus the artless Indian strove, 

With thoughts and words, at once, to nurse, 
To soothe the new-born, first, fond love, 
That never could be hers. 
Ah ! better, had the old Sachem never prest 
The white-man as his own — Ya-wa-ta's guest ! 

XXIII. 

Think not to mount on fancy's wings 

To golden castles in the air, 
Nor fill, ^vith fond imaginings. 
Vain hopes of glory there ! — 
Ya-wa-ta, learn, learn, that Nature's law, 
In wisdom, formed the Indian for the Squaw. 



CAN. I.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 17 



XXIY. 

Again impatient on the shore, 

Her delicate footsteps kiss the sand ; 
Again she listens to the roar 
Of waves along the strand, — 
Till, lo ! she starts — she shouts in ecstasy : 
Canoe! he comes! Young Christopher — 'tis he!" 

XXV. 

Hold, maiden, hold ! — A murderous crew, 

On bloody business, bend them here ! 
Ya-wa-ta, 'tis no love for you ! 
Behold the Buccaneer ! 
Ah ! haste thee, haste ! — or be the pirates' slave ! 
Seek, loveliest bird,oh ! seek the "Swallows' Cave!" 

XXVI. 

She scarce had reached the cavern, when 

Four ruffians leaped upon the shore, 
And on their shoulders to the den 
A slender captive bore ; 
Three bore her in, and placed her on the sand, 
While thus their chieftain gave the fierce command : 

XXVII. 

" Here bring the haughty captive ! — Here 
Perform the sacred mockery I 
Her nuptial bower, or bloody bier, 
This sea-bird cave shall be ! — 
Who thwarted Don, and sported with his love, 
Shall feel how sports the falcon with the dove ! 



18 pirates' glen [can. I. 



XXVIII. 

** Ha ! know ye that young ChristopTier 

Lies slumbering scarce two leagues away, 
Preaming, he sleeps enfolding her 
Upon his bridal day ? 
Sleep, beardless youth I This night thy dreams shall be 
Half true ! — she sleeps — well nigh — enfolding thee ! 

XXIX. 

*' Here, strip her of this male disguise ! 

A sailor boy I will not wed ! 

Unbind her hands, unblind her eyes ; 

Bedeck my martial maid 

In maiden robes ; — these breeches ill beseem 

The fairy form that fills the lover's dream ! " 

XXX. 

He spoke ; — the ruthless ruffians tore. 
Obedient to their chief's command. 
To tatters the garments that she wore, 
And cast them on the sand : 
Thus from the tender lamb wolves tear the fleece; 
The helpless captive sighs, but holds her peace. 

XXXI. 

" Where now those golden locks, my fair, 
Those rare, luxuriant wreaths, that deck 
Thy brow no more, nor kiss this bare, 
Bound, alabaster neck ? 
What ! cut thy curls away — thy maiden pride ! 
'Tis most unnatural in a would-be bride I 



CAN. I.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 19 



XXXII. 

" It cannot be ! " he said, and tore 
Eudely the false, dark, crispy hair 
That hid, as rocks the priceless ore, 
Her golden treasure there : 
Unbound, the twisted ringlets fell, and pressed 
Her marble shoulders, arms, and swan-like breast. 

XXXIII. 

"Hold ! hold ! — she faints ! bear, comrades,bear 
Once more our mermaid to the deep! 
The ocean wave, the open air. 
Will break this death-like sleep I" 
The pirate spoke ; 'twas done. Their beauteous slave, 
Young Arabel, floats on the cradling wave. 

XXXIV. 

Ah ! know ye what it is to be 

Floating the crystal, aqueous air — 
PlunirinQj, like ang-els through some sea 
Of ether, when they bear 
Heaven's messages, — and feel the azure flood 
Electrify the soul and thrill the blood ! 

XXXV. 

So felt the young Ya-wa-ta ; — so 

Full many a glowing maid before, 
Perchance, ten thousand moons ago, 
Upon that moon-lit shore : 
So bathed the red girls ; — so, the lovelier, fair, 
Nymphean forms that yearly wanton there : 



20 pirates' glen [can. i. 



XXXVI. 

Not so, tlie captive Arabel, 

Just gasping into consciousness ; 
Death-like upon her bosom fell 
Kind Neptune's soft caress. 
She breathes — awakes ; once more the pirate's slave, 
She feels herself borne backward to the cave. 

XXXVII. 

Again she hears those taunting lips, 

That once in blandest accents wooed, 
Boasting of castles, gold and ships, 
Of princely sires and blood ; — 
A demon in disguise, he strove to win 
By these, in vain, her stainless soul to sin ; 

XXXVIII. 

** Bring from the boat the robe, the wine, 
The cake ! — Priest, tie the bridal halter I 
Two shall be one — and mine and thine, 
Grow ours, upon the altar ! 
Take, love, this silken robe and put it on ; 
Already has it decked more brides than one ! " 

XXXIX. 

*' I take thy robe, thou bloody man ; 
But never will I take thy name ! 
Death have I braved, thou know'st, and can ! 
This much I yield to shame ; 
I take thy guilty robe, but take it less 
Through fear of thee, than my own nakedness- ! " 



CAN. I.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 21 



XL. 

" Bravo ! my peerless Amazon ! 
I love the brave, by land or sea, 
By board or bed I — Seilora Don (4) 
Brave Arabel shall be ! 
Here, take these bracelets and this diamond ring ; 
They graced the daughter of a Gambian king ! 

XLI. 

*' Stand, bride-men, stand, your sabers drawn; 
Guard well our Goddess of the deck ! 
Bind this — by my last beauty worn — 
Around thy snowy neck ! 
Priest, to thy work — tie fast the bridal knot ! " — 
'Swear, maiden, swear!" " I hate thee, love thee not! 

XLII. 

** Be this to thee mine only vow !'' 

She said, but deigned no more. Her eye 
Unmoved met his. — " Know, then, that thou, 
Since such thy choice, shalt die ? 
The hand, that once all kindly sought to bless, 
Ev'n here repulsed, shall end thy stubborness ! " 

XLIII. 

" Strike, murderer, strike ! — Thy sword alone — 
Not thou — can touch this maiden heart ! 
Strike, man ! brave man ! — without a groan, 
My spirit shall depart. 
In all its innocence, and, by the throne 
Of righteous Heaven, bear witness 'gainst thine own !" 



22 pirates' glen [can. i. 



XLIV. 

The pirate trembled ; seized the blade 

All gory with the desperate strife 
Of yesterday, — but paused : " I paid, 
To win this hoiden wife, 
Too much to lose her thus ! No, live to be, 
Self-doomed, the unwedded bride of infamy ! 

XLV. 

" Here's to the health of Arabel ! 

Drink, comrades, drink ! then upward bear 
Us to our cottage of the dell ! 
Drink to the bridal pair ! — 
The love, I bore thee once, shall spare thee till, 
Dearer than love — Revenge hath gorged his fill ! 

XLVI. 

" Ah ! silly thing, to seek to flee 

The nuptial feast thy father made ! 
Ha ! better had it been for thee, ' 

Haclst thou his prayers obeyed ! 
Thou, — who clidst jilt the Spanish Lord, and sneer 
At gold, — shalt serve the Spanish Buccaneer ! 

XL VII. 

"From pole to pole, from shore to shore, 
Did I not tell thee, girl, my ships 
Sweep every sea ? — My cannons' roar — 
Have they belied my lips ? 
That haughty crew, that thought to battle me — 
Hast thou no thanks ? — I spared but only thee ! 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 23 



XLYIII. 

" Thy Clii'istopher has forged thy chains, (11) 
In token of dear love to thee ! 
Thus he repaysf thy pilgrim pains 
Across this dangerous sea ! — 
Thou shalt submit, or starved in fetters make, (5) 
In Dungeon Rock, love to the rattlesnake I " 

XLIX. 

He said, while passion-fired he flung 

His iron arm around the maid, 
And bounding, like a lion, sprung 
Forth from the cavern shade : 
He gave the brief command ; the boat, the crew, 
In silence, up meandering Saugus, flew. 



O -A-INT "I" O II 



"VYe left Ya-wa-ta in the cave ; 

The pirates winding up the stream ; 
Young Christopher still on the wave ; 
All nature in a dream 
Of soft repose. The moon-beams chastely play 
Upon the bosom of the slumbering bay. 



24 pirates' glen [can. ii. 



IL 

The twain Nahants lie side by side, (6) 

in one harmonious union blent ; 
The matchless bridegroom and the bride — 
One soul, one sentiment ; 
United still through tempest, change and calm, 
They pass from age to age, bound arm in arm. 

III. 

Still on that ocean coucb sublime, 

Beneath their azure coverlet, 
Soft gliding down the tide of time. 
They sweetly slumber yet. 
O, that in such celestial scene as this, 
Man's soul should sink to deeds of wickedness ! 

IV. 

When through the portals of the skies 

Beam lamps of glory — worlds of bliss — 
Glimpses to earth of Paradise, 
To lure us up from this. 
To those bright orbs — glimpses divinely sent 
From the beacon stars of God's own firmament ! 



But when sky-mingling surges roll ; 

The earthquake heaves ; loud thunders roar ; 
Tornadoes whirling, like a scroll, 
xVlong that rock-bound shore, 
Some foundering bark, — why lifts vile man on bigh, 
Too late, his trembling voice and suppliant eye ? 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 25 



VI. 

Ya-wa-ta in the dark recess, 

Like frighted hare when hounds pursue, 
Unseen, in trembling breathlessness, 
Beheld that desperate crew ; 
But, when the parting oars gleamed on the wave 
And sounded far, she bounding quits the cave ; 

VIL 

And, gathering up, with hasty hand, 
The garments of the captive maid, 
Left wildly strown along the strand, — ■ 
Glides upward to the shade. 
Beneath the dark, green wood, above the shore, 
Where stood the wigwam of the Sagamore. 

VIII. 

Above it sang blithe birds of air ; 

Below, the tribes of ocean played ; 
The young fox and the frisky hare 
Skipt nightly in the shade. 
Responsive to the roaring of the deep, 
The balmy pines their whispering murmur keep. 

IX. 

The shrill cicada creeks above ; 

Afar the noisy wbip-po-wil 
Loud wooes, or chides, his plaintive love 
Perched on some neio-hborino; hill. — 
Ya-wa-ta comes ; — the pines have spread, with care, 
For her small feet, a carpet of their hair I 



26 pirates' glen [can. ii. 



Now slejDt old Na-nf\-pas-lie-met, (2) 

Last of a mighty race of kings, 
Whose waning moon had well nigh set, 
Borne on Oblivion's wings, 
To that for Spirit-land — that peaceful shore, 
Whence foes, nor pestilence, shall drive them more. 

XL 

Stretched on his bed of mats and furs, 

The hoary-headed chieftain lay ; 
Not so Ya-wa-ta ; far from hers, 
Love banished sleep. All day 
Had she, — for still he came not, he for whom 
She wore the wampum and the wild-bird plume, — 

XII. 

Gazed wistful on the wave ; but now, 

Darkening the love-light of her soul, 
Athwart that sunny, fair, young brow, 
A shade of sadness stole : 
'* He loves me not ! — Did not that ruffian yell 
The names of Christopher and Arabel ? 

XIII. 

** Ah ! can it, Arabella, be, 

Thou art the maid, my fother feigned, 
Christopher loves beyond the sea, 
A helpless captive chained ? 
Ah ! beautiful — I pity, tremble, sigh — 
Fair face, with golden locks and azure eye ! 



CAN. ir.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 27 



XIV. 

** Thou art the day — T am the night ! 
The night must ever yield to day ! 
Thus Arabella comes to fright 
Ya-wa-ta's dreams away ! 
Ya-wa-ta yields, alas ! but still by her 
Belov'd is Arabella's Christopher ! 

XV. 

" And when he comes, I'll frankly tell, 
How in a black canoe they bore 
From sea the beauteous Arabel, 
A captive to the shore. 
He will not love Ya-wa-ta less, that she 
Made known to him his love's captivity. 

XVI. 

'• I'll tell him all, and for his sake. 

Will love the maid he loves so well. 
Oh ! may that heartless recreant break 
His threatenings in the dell I" 
Thus love and pity moved her tender breast ; 
Thus nature taught — to bless, is to be blest. 

• XVII. 

She sits beside the wigwam door ; 

The moonbeams kiss her dusky brow. 
The captive's garments, on the floor, 
Arrest her fancy now. 
With curious eye to view she lifts the vest, 
When, lo, a something drops upon her breast ! 
3 



28 pirates' glen [can. ii. 



XVIII. 

It sparkled, like some priceless gem, 

In bezel wrought of burnished gold, 
On Sbeba's stately diadem ! 
She turned it — and, behold, 
Miraculous !- — the face of Christopher, 
In all its beauty beaming, smiles on her ! 

XIX. 

She started — shrieked. The chief awoke : 
" Ya-wa-ta ! daughter, art thou here ? 
Methought, some voice in terror broke 
Upon my slumbering ear ! 

What ! art thou still with beuds and feathers drest? 

'T is midnight, child ! Ah ! yes, that White-boy guest ! 

XX. 

** Came he and parlied on the shore. 
And sat with you along the rocks. 
Praising, perchance, the things you wore, 
Your plumes, your raven locks I" 
Ya-wa-ta blushed — if Indians blush — but told 
Not of that wonderous image framed in gold ; 

XXI. • 

But how a band of miscreants came, 
And bore a captive maiden there, 
Threatening to " Swallows' Cave," — hername, 
And how surpassing fair ; 
Of these she told, holding before his gaze, 
The shreds, the tattered vest — mute witnesses. 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 29 



XXII. 

" And were they Red-skin savages, 

Or savage White-skins !" growls tbe chief, 
Whose accents, more than words, express 
The thouo;ht that brinp;s relief: — 
O ! how the champion of a vanquished race, 
Swells at the sight — proud victors in disgrace ! 

XXIII. 

Ya-wa-ta knew full well the theme 

That roused the sachem's secret ire, 
And softly, as some whispering dream, 
Bespeaks her angry sire : 
All are not bad, dear father; — some there be, 
Good White-men who love Indians, you and me ! 

XXIV. 

** Good White-man, he, dear father, who 
Bore back from bondage, home to us, 
Delighted in his own canoe' 
Our own dear Wen-u-ehus. — 
Who made the Red-man, made the White-man ; He 
Loves most the good, whatever hue they bo !" 

XXV. 

'Twas thus the wigwam angel said, 

iVnd soothed, and sweetly bending o'er 
Her father on his lowly bed, 
She kissed the Sagamore. 
He could not chide ; what words had failed to prove, 
Submissive yielded to all-conquering love. 



30 pirates' glen [can. ir. 



XXVI. 

Again, wrapped on bis bed of furs. 

The chieftain slept. Ya-wa-ta raised 
Again the white face up to hers, 
And long, intensely, gazed. 
Again she left the sachem ; as before, 
Again she trips along the shelly shore. 

XX VII. 

No boat — no Christopher — is there. 
Slowly and sadly from the shore, 
She gains, at length, the wigwam, where, 
Lulled by the ocean roar. 
She sleeps, — the image of the White-man guest 
In all her dreams, and on her bosom pressed. 

XXVIII. 

She slept ; she dreamed ; but ere the day 

Had melted out the morning star, 
She bounds along that billowy bay, 
Her vision piercing far 
The mist of morn — till, lo ! the king of light, 
Roused from the deep, pursues the shades of night. 

XXIX. 

Now, like the Papal crest afor ; 

Now, goldcn-neck'd, two crowns in one; 
And now, behold a binate star ! 
Behold a double sun ! (7) 
Too glorious sight ! — the vision cannot stay ! 
It breaks — two were, but one has dropt away ! 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON EOCK. 31 



XXX. 

Thus from our side, drop, one by one, 

The friends, we love, and cease to bo : 
Thus day by day drops from the sun 
Down to — Eternity I — 
Thus, like refracted suns, as bright as they, 
Our hopes, our gilded visions, glide away ! 

XXXI. 

Ya-wa-ta gazed, in mute delight, 
On that phantasmagorial morn, 
Mysterious offspring of a night 
Of deeds in darkness born. 
The phantom fades ; — delusion thus, for aye, 
Fades from the rising sun of truth away. 

XXXII. 

That wondrous imao;e of the ofuest. 
Again salutes her listening eyes ; 
While her small hand, scarce heeded, prest 
A lettered, mystic prize ; — 
Mute though the pen, not so the painter's skill 
That speaks all tongues, as speaks the babbling rill. 

XXXIII. 

This needed no interpreter ; 

It was itself the thing whereof 
Words are but shadows, and to her 
It told a tale of love : 
The young, yet manly face, the lip, the eye, 
The smile — all that might make a maiden sigh ; 



pirates' glen [can. II. 



XXXIV. 

All — save reality, it seemed ; 

The nucleus of a dream of bliss, 
Such as the Lesbian kSappho dreamed, 
And dreaming seemed to kiss ! 
And long she gazed, in love-full reverie, 
Now on the portrait, now the panting sea. 

XXXV. 

And longer still, in fond delight 

Ya-wa-ta fain had roused and gazed, — 
When, lo ! there loomed upon her sight. 
Far off, its white wings raised, 
The skiff of Christopher. Reclining he 
Re-read this message from beyond the sea ; — 

XXXVI. 

" A poundless bantling seek to bear 
My daughter from a Spanish Lord ! 
A beggar, from the millionaire, 
To grace thy bed and board — 
Bags and starvation ! Wretch ! — thy letters — ^lia ! 
Tbey 're burned ! Let morning meet the evening star I 

XXXVII. 

" Elopement, eh ! young Sentiment ! 

Woo squaws ! Know that the princely Don 
And thy ' Sweet Bella Ross ' are blent, 
Ere this meets thee, in one !" — 
The skiff draws near ; its keel grates in the sand, 
While thus he greets Ya-wa-ta on the strand : 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 33 



XXXVIII. 

" Ya-wa-ta, I did dream of you ; 

That we were sailing on the deep, 
Both ill the same swift-wing'd canoe, 
This morning in my sleep ; 
Wlien suddenly an Indian arrow flew, 
Shot from a threatening cloud, and pierced me through ! 

XXXIX. 

** My body sank deep in the sea ; 
While, as my fleeting spirit sped, 
A brave young sachem sat with thee, 
Smiling above the dead ! 
Warned thus, 1 go ; my sun of joy is set ! 
Farewell, fair child of JNa-na-pas-he-met !" 

XL, 

A tear stood in Ya-wa-ta's eye ; 

She could not speak, but turning drew 
The painting forth, and with a sigh, 
Presents it to his view. — 
" Great God ! what meaneth this ? Ya-wa-ta, tell ! 
0, speak ! — I gave this gift to — Arabel ! " 

XLI. 

*' Last night — it was a fearful night ! 

And fearful forms came from the sea, 
Bearing to yonder cave, a white, 
Fair captive bound ! Ah me ! 
Her garments left behind, with threats they bore 
Her up that crooked creek ! — I know no more. 



34 pirates' glen [can. ii. 



XLII. 

" This locket I did find,— and this 
I cannot read, but it may tell 
More of the fiightful mysteries 
Encirclinoj Arabel." 
" Thanks, thanks ! Ya-wa-ta ; " cries the youth, and o'er 
The well-known hand his eager eye-balls pore : — 

XLIII. 

" A fugitive floats Arabel, 

Borne on the wild, wide, western sea, 
From home — her home no more — to tell 
Her tale of wrongs to thee ; 
Directed by the star of love, the chart 
Of hope, the magnet of a melting heart. 

XLIV. 

"Thou dost remember, ah I too w^ell, 

That demon, Don, who dammed our stream 
Of love to one wide, ocean swell — 
To one continual dream 
Of hopes and fears, and drove thee thence ! Enough ; 
The Spaniard met from me a stern rebuff. 

XLV. 

"In vain, Castilian songs he sung; 
The soft guitar attuned, in vain; 
His golden gifts, his boastful tongue, 
Met no responsive strain : 
My heart — my thoughts — were far away with thee, 
Dear Christopher, beyond dividing sea. 



CAN. II.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 35 



XL VI. 

*' Gold won my father ; — when I spoke 
Of one I loved beyond the wave, 
His anger, like an earthquake, broke ; 
' Thou shalt not wed a slave ! ' — 
Did he forget ? — He wedded not for gold. 
True love may be exchanged, but never sold. 

XL VII. 

" Could I have doomed my father so ? 
Have torn his very heart in twain ; 
Hurled all his dearest prospects low ; 
Bartered his life for gain ? 
Yet such he deemed ' paternal love 1 ' — Hard creed, 
To please one old, would make two young hearts bleed ! 



XLVIII. 

** With gifts, and vows of swift return, 
The golden boaster spreads his sail : 
In dreams liis nuptial torches burn ; 
In dreams his boasts prevail ! 
Ah me ! how fain for some fir western glen 
And thee, had I exchanged dark London then ! 

XLIX. 

*' Companion of my childhood plays ; 

JMy more than brother — earliest friend ; 
The chosen of maturer days, — 
Must all love's visions end 
In this? — The hated Don, the nuptial flay, 
Had come ! — A father's threats brooked no delay. 



36 pirates' glen [can. ii. 



L. 

" By night, alone, in male disguise, 
I fled, embarked, and on the sea. 
Bound for Columbian soil and skies, 
I trust to meet with thee : 
Should fate forbid, these lines perchance may tell, 
How Christopher was loved by Arabel." 

LI. 

Such were the tidings. As he read, 
Ya-wa-ta's eyes were reading him ; 
His color changed, and came and fled ; 
Anon his eye grew dim. 
Suffused with tears. Ya-wa-ta's balmy breast 
With pity heaved, and kindly words expressed : 

LII. 

" Oh ! had my chieftain brothers been 

In ' Swallows' Cave,' instead of me, — 
The valiant We-ne-pdw-we-kin, 
Bold Mon-to-wam-pa-te, 
All armed, with Wo-no-ha-qua-ham, the brave, — 
111 fared those ruffians ; rescued were their slave I 

LIII. 

" But thou art hungry, worn and damp; 
Our wigwam table waits for thee. 
Well heaped with no-ke-hi-ke, samp, (8) 
And strawberries ; — 0, be 
Once more the guest of Na-na-pas-he-met, 
Nor deem thy sun of joy forever set!" 



CAN. III.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 37 



LIV. 

*' Ya-wa-ta, for thy kindness take 

Ten thousand thanks ! — I must away, 
Away ! That captive maiden's sake 
Forbids — cuts short delay. 
This token for thy sire, the Sagamore ; 
And this, for thee. — Perchance, we meet no more 

LV. 

He said, and wafting up the stream, 

Ya-wa-ta left with many tears ; 
In thought* borne onward, like a dream 
Of maddening hopes and fears ; 
In thought, far in some forest, cave or dell, 
He fights — he falls — he rescues Arabel ! 



0-A-3>a'TO IXX 



The summer sun is rolling high ; 

The winds their still siesta take ; 
No broad-wing'd clouds along the sky 
Their cooling shadows make ; 
The landscape faints ; all, save the plushy stream, 
In breathless torpor, bear the burning beam. 



38 pirates' glen [can. hi. 



ir. 

The birds awhile forget to sing ; 

The eaojle leaves the melting sky, 
Anrl on the hill-top folds his wing ; 
The lazy butterfiy 
Scarce flaps along ; the wild deer pants ; the pines 
Sweat fragrant pitch ; the shrill-keyed locust whines. 

III. 

Meandering on with noiseless tread, — 

Like good men to Eternity, 
That boundless ocean of th*e dead, 
Resigned, reluctantly, — 
Divided, dark, perennial woods between. 
Long-lingering Saugus laves his banks of green. 

IV. 

Still wending up that winding creek, 
Sad Christopher pursues his way. 
Nor heeds the heat ; his swift oars speak 
Impatience of delay. 
Startled, the Halcyon bird, the snipe, the crane, 
Kise, as he passes, shriek, and light again. 

V. 

Now leaped on land, like forest deer, 
lie threads, along that shady shore, 
The Indian track, till on his ear 
The loud, familiar roar 
Booms from yon rattling Fonndery ; fararound(9) 
The echuino: forest, hills and banks resound. 



CAN. III.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 39 



VI. 

That huge okl structure, and the hands, 

That tamed the savage solitude — 
Where many a smiling mansion stands, 
Romantic sisterhood — 
Where are they now ? — Where we shall be, alas ! 
Their graves, the Cinder Banks, are deck'd with grass. 

\T[I. 

Yet while they lived, they toiled, they loved ; 

Their hearts beat high with hopes and fears ; 

The lovelier, baser, passions moved 

Alternate smiles and tears : 

Their thoughts are knov^-n to Heaven ; the pictur'd light, 

That bore their deeds, still bears them — still in sight I 

Till. 

And in the vast Eternity 

Of time, and space, their spirit eyes, 
Turned back to earth, may shrink to see 
Their murdered moments rise. 
Like Bancjuo's ghost ; or they may joy to be, 
With their good deeds, beheld eternally ! 

IX. 

The smoky foundery heaves in view ; 

A moment, on yon opening plot, 
Christopher paused — in haste withdrew. 
Piercing that secret grot 
Wherein, mysterious purchasers had told, 
Fetters of iron should be met with gold. (11) 



40 pirates' glen [can. hi. 



X. 

The gold was there ; the fetters gone. 

*' Ah, me !" he cried, as light broke in 
Upon the deed that he had done ; 
" Ah me ! and have I been 
The dupe of desperate pirates — forged the chains 
That bind sweet Arabcl in captive pains ! 

XI. 

" Oh ! had I deemed these hands had made 
Those cursed fetters, love, for thee ! — 
Back, perjured gold ! — The debt be paid, 
When Heaven hath pardoned me 
For that base deed. Ah ! little do we know, 
From one small sin, what mighty mischiefs flow I 

XII. 

" Ghost of the past, thou shalt atone, 
Atone for this, by deeds that tell 
A double tale — one by the throne 
Of Heaven, and one in Hell ! 
God spare my life, the captive shall be freed ! 
Ay ! steel for steel — the bloody pirate bleed I'* 

XIII. 

Once more, in haste, he bounds in view ; 
In haste, swings wide the foundery door. 
Swiftly the frightful tidings flew ; 
The gates are shut ; the roar 
Breaks off. Obedient to his quick command, 
A " king's-arm " holds each hardy settler's band. 



CAN. III.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 41 



XIV. 

In vain, they pierced the wildering wood ; 

In vain, they traced the winding stream ; 
Till night brought forth her dusky brood, 
But with them brought no gleam 
Of promise. Home returned the exhausted men ; 
Deep darkness brooded over Pirates' Glen. 

XV. 

Ah ! Christopher, brave Christopher, 
Where in that wilderness of shade, 
Art thou alone in quest of her, 
The fair, the captive maid ? — 
Ho ! haste thee hither ! — lo, there waits for thee 
A hoary-headed stranger from the sea ! 

XVI. 

Of thee he speaks ; — thou knowest him well ; 

Thy friend — thy foe ! he looks in ire ; 
He mutters now of Arabel, 
Now of an injured sire. 
Christopher comes — sad solace of his loss — 
To meet the angry brow of rigid Koss ! 

XVII. 

*' Ha ! bantling ! little didst thou deem," 
He said, " this old gray head, to-night, 
"Would thus the demon of thy dream 
Drive from his damned delight ! 
Ungrateful dog ! I leave to chastening Hell 
Thy deed ! — but ah I my child, lost Arabel ! 



42 pirates' glen [can. hi. 



XVIII. 

** My child, my child I — Woe worth the day, 
I saved this vile-born crocodile, 
To tear thee from these arms away 
Back to his muddy Nile ! — 
Oh ! happiest hearts he hearts that cannot feel ! 
Henceforth, to thee, be mine hardened to steel I " 

XIX. 

" Those words, but for thy locks of snow. 
Old man," replies the youth, "had met 
None other answer than a blow ! 
Thou wilt remember yet 
Thy taunts with grief! — One deed of charity, 
Forsooth, gives thee the right to — murder me I 

XX. 

" Once on a cold and wintry night — 
How often have I heard the tale ! — 
A bantling, pitiable sight, 
Shivering was heard to wail 
At Ross's door ! — Thou didst not leave me there 
To freeze' ! — May Heaven reward thee for thy care ! 

XXI. 

" God knows that I have served thee well — 
' Hog,' ' ingrate,' ' vile-born crocodile I ' 
I loved thy daughter ; — x\rabel 
Returned each love-lit smile. 
A wealthier suitor came ; — a change came o'er 
Thy plans, and doomed me to this savage shore ! '^ 



CAN. Iir.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 43 



XXII. 

'* Enougli ! Thou hast clecoyecl my child ! 
Hast lured her from a golden home — 
Oh ! madness most unnatural, wild — 
In wretchedness to roam ! 
Yet Heaven be praised ! My child T still may free 
From worse than death — bride of a bantling, thee ! 

XXIII. 

" Away, away !" — The old man raved ; 
A look of mute disdain, met his — 
No word. — Young Christopher has braved 
The pathless wilderness. 
A rusty sword, a trusty gun he takes, 
And through the forest gloom his passage makes. 

XXIV. 

Now lost in darkness long, and now, 
Behold, where high yon craggy hill 
Bends o'er the scene its beetling brow, 
He stands. .Above, the still, 
Lone night — beneath him seas of wild wood, lay ; 
While slowly slipping from the dark blue bay, 

XXV. 

Blood-red, above the guilty globe, 

The round moon rose. A holier light 
Beams from her now ; her crimson robe 
Turns to celestial white ; 
Thus, when the good man leaves this world of clay, 
His spirit brightens, as it soars away ! 
4 



44 pirates' glen [can. hi. 



XXVI. 

Awhile in wildering thoughts he stood, 
Of wrongs below — of worlds above : 
He mused on man's ingratitude ; 
He mused on woman's love, — 
On beauteous Arabel's. " Thrice wretched me !" 
He sighs, *' to live, nor share thy destiny! 

XXVII. 

" Ah! can I leave this barbarous coast, 
These wild, interminable woods, 
And thee a helpless captive lost 
In their dark solitudes ! 
We may not meet in life ; my boast, in death, 
Shall be — for thee I breathed my latest breath ! 

xxvni. 

" * Hope on, Hope ever !' Thanks, dear maid ! 
Thy needle worked the motto well, 
Thy farewell gift. — 0, might this blade 
Work out for Arabel 
A bolder motto !• — Hark ! what hideous yell ! 
Again ! again ! — Courage ! I'll pierce that dell !" 

XXIX. 

Impetuous vengeance fired his breast — 

Cupid and Mars y — all blindly bold, 
Over crackling limbs his footsteps pressed, 
Till, standing now, behold, 
High on that beetling peak above the Glen, 
iSe hears— the forest wail— no sound of men. 



CAI^. III.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 45 



XXX. 

Huge pines, above, their cloud-tops rear ; 

Dark hemlocks choke the view, beneath. — 
What horrid oath breaks on his ear ? 
His sword leaps from its sheath, 
In vain ! — i\.h ! well for thee, the crags impose 
A frightful barrier 'twixt thee and thy foes ! 

^ xxxr. 

Again breaks up an impious oath ! 
Hark ye ! — it is the voice of Don : 
"I've ransomed one I — I'll ransom both, 
Ere many months are gone ! 
Too good to live ! — Comrades, we must away, 
Twice up to Dungeon Rock, by dawn of day ! 

• XXXII. 

" Bear ye these bundles ;^io ! there, Jack, 
Take this — and you — and you — bear this ! 
Land-sharks are following in our track ! — 
Meantime, mayest thou, proud Miss, 
Learn from those dying lips — thy destined end ! 
A bleeding captive needs a captive friend !" 

XXXIII. 

Hope on, hope ever, suffering one ! 

Night's darkest hour gives birth to day. 
The pirates' heavy tread, anon, 
Dies in the woods away. — 
Haste, Christopher, haste ! the hour has come to prove 
Thine own — requite- a tender maiden's — love ! 



46 pirates' glen [can. hi. 

XXXIV. 

Borne on the wings of hope, before 

The pirates' solitary hut 
He stands. A moment by the door 
All firmly barred and shut, 
He listens to the dying groans within, 
And the angel voice that soothes the dupe of sin. 

XXXV. , 

'T is she — his own dear Arabel ! 

One giant blow — the door gives way :; 
He 's in that bloody house of hell, 
Of deeds that shun the day. 
A shriek of fright, amazement, joy — and she 
Is folded to his heart, how tenderly ! 

XXXVI. • 

" Ah ! Christopher ! — and is it thou? 
Or am I folded to a dream ? 
Dreams are my only solace now, 
Of light my only beam ! " — 
" I am the substance of a dream, to thee 
Sent by the God of dreams, to set thee free I 

XXXVII. 

" But more of this anon," he said ; 

And toward the bleeding victim turned, 
Wailing upon her gory bed. 
Dimly the lantern burned. 
But still enough to cast a ghastly ray 
On that fair form of scarcely breathing clay. 



CAN. III.] AND DUNGEON KOCK. 47 



XXXVIII. 

** Wait not," she feebly said, " for me ; 
My spirit soon will pass away ! 
My pulse beats low ; I shall be free, 
Before the dawn of day ! 
Thanks for thy tenderness ; it shall be told, 
If spirits speak, where streets are paved with gold ! 

XXXIX. 

" But one request before I die — 

Then haste ye from this fearful den — 
I would my friends knew where I lie, 
When buried in the Glen ; 
I would that other tongues, than his, should tell. 
By what disease — what wounds — Clorinda fell ! 

XL. 

" Alas ! I loved that heartless man ; 
He fondly wooed, and wedded me. 
Millions he held, the story ran. 
In lands beyond the sea ! 
The ruthless murderer, slaver, buccaneer, 
He robbed me of my gold, and brought me here ! 

XLI. 

" I know not where I am ; — by day, 

I tend those flowers, my sole delight — 
But I grow faint — ye must away ! — 
That box will bring to light, 
Who, whence, I am. This bag of gold shall be 
The dower of her, for whom he murdered me ! 



48 pirates' glen [can. hi. 



XLII. 

" One cooling dranglit from yonder well ; — 
Heaven help you both I How dark it grows I 
I faint — I go !" she gasped, " farewell !" — 
She's in her long repose. 
They may not harm her now-^ — those godless men ; 
Her soul in Heaven — her bones in Pirates' Glen. 

XLIII. 

There yearly from her sunny home 

The pilgrim birds wing o'er the sea, 
To chant, around Clorinda's tomb, 
Their votive melody 
All summer long — and, when the hemlock tree 
Bends white with snow, still chants the chick-a-dee. 

XLIV. 

She slumbers in a nameless grave ; 

Her (ieaseless dirge, the forest wail ; 
Wild flowers of spring above her wave 
Deep in that lonely dale. 
There needs no marble slab, wherf good men die ; 
God's earth, their urn — their epitaph, on high ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 49 



O -A. U" T O I -\7* 



I. 

Awliile they gazed upon the dead, 

If aught so beautiful can die, 
Deeming it strange, a fiend should wed 
An angel of the sky ! 
Sadly they gazed, and fain had made for her, — 
But fate forbade, — some fitting sepulcher. 

II. 

They closed her eyes ; they dropt a tear. 
The lamp had ceased to lend its light; 
Silent, above her blood-stained bier, 
Brood the black wings of night. 
With hasty step they climb the craggy cliflf; — 
" Wilt seek the foundery, dearest, or the skiff? 

III. 

" Thine angry sire — it must be told — 
Awaits thee there — would rescue thee, 
To wed some lordly lump of gold, 

From this poor bantling, me ! — [choice? 
But thou shalt choose. " "Ah! canst thou doubt my 
Thou knowest, I fled — I tremble at his voice ! 



50 pirates' glen [can. iv. 



IV. 

*' Wbat frightful fate he planned for me, 
Let this dark, deadly dungeon tell ! 
Clorinda's fate ! — it must not be 
The fate of Arabel ! "— 
' Thy hand, dear girl ! " he said ; '' but ere we go, 
'T were just, these arms should lay thy captor low !'* 

V. 

*' Leave him to righteous Heaven ; — there is 
A power that binds the powers of ill, 
That follows man's iniquities. 
Conceal them where he will : 
Remorse — remorse — the murderer's dungeon, doom, 
His worse than death — attends him to the tomb !" 

VI. 

The fire-fly lends a friendly glow, 
, To light them on their lonely way, — 
Interminable shade, — till, lo ! 
The skiff, the creek, the bay, 
Before them wait. — With swiftly flying oar 
They near Nahant, as morning gilds the shore. 

VII. 

*' Thou dost remember, Arabel, 

I wrote thee of an Indian maid, 
s Fair as an Indian-Ocean shell 

On beds of coral laid ; 
And how, in sport, I almost wished I were 
An Indian, too, that I might mate with her. 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 51 



A^III. 

*' Child of the * New-Moon ' sagamore !(2) 
She saw thee bound in ' Swallows' Cave ;' 
To me the frightful message bore, 
Thou wast a pirate's slave ; 
She wept at my departure, — wept that thou 
Wert lost ; — she'll weep for joy to see thee now. 

IX. 

** Wouldst thou behold an Indian king, 

And in a wigwam palace rest ? 

Wouldst hear an Indian princess sing? 

Be then Ya-wa-ta's guest : 

She shall conduct thee round the shelly shore ; 

Each cliff, each cave, each fairy scene explore : 

X. 

•' Shall show thee, where the star-fish shines ; 
The sea-birds build ; the swallows sleep ; 
Shall chant,— beneath the murmuring pines 
Above the neighboring deep, — 
Columbian legends — wild old songs of yore. 
Great wars and loves, and sights seen from the shore : 

XI. 

" How once, borne on a mountain surge, 
The angry Ocean Spirit lashed 
The hugh Sea-serpent with a scourge 
Of thunder-bolts, and dashed 
Him breathless, floundering many a league along 
The coast, till, tamed, he ceased from threatening wrong. 



52 pirates' glen [can. iv. 



XII. 

" How, whooping louder than the bray 
Of battling billows on the shore, 
Their glorious fields, in mimic fray, 
Great warriors fight once more ; 
Or drive the phantom deer — the dance — the ball, 
Or play the 'hub-bub' game, till evening fall. "(10) 

XIII. 

Thus wend they on their watery way, 
Till borne beside yon beetling clitF, 
The breaking waves, the break of day, 
Receive the trembling skiff; — 
When now, behold, like meteor from the night, 
A British Cruiser, thundering, heaves in sight !(11) 

XIV. 

He hails her with exultant cry ; 

A friendly answer greets his ear ; 
Ya-wa-ta, too, with wondering eye, 
Descending softly near, 
Behold, with joy, the youth, the rescued maid. 
And bids them welcome to her wigwam shade. 

XV. 

And well she feasted Arabel 

While Christopher a well-armed crew 
Led back, and in the pirates' dell 
The pirates overthrew — 
Save Don, all bound in fetters, doomed to swing 
'Twixt heaven and earth — the end of murdering ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON KOCK. 53 



XVI. 

Young Cliristopher had told his love ; 

It touched those martial mariners : 

'* We've seen the eagle ; — bring the dove ; 

My cabin's thine and hers ; " 

The Cruiser said, " Boys, lower the boat, and bear, 

The maid aboard; — these pirates love the fair !" 

XVII. 

The boat lies waiting on the shore, 
Her prow impatient to the deep. 
"Fair daughter of the Sagamore, 
Blest are the eyes that weep !" 
Low speaks the youth ! " Ya-wa-ta, fare thee well I 
This gift from Christopher and Arabel." 

XVIII. 

** The Indian girl cares not for gold ;" 
Ya-wa-ta said, " but I would be 
Remembered, when the waves have rolled 
You far beyond the sea ! 
Know that the child of Na-na-pas-he-met, 
If still she live, loves and remembers yet !" 

XIX. 

" Have we no token then for thee, 

Of grateful hearts and sad farewell?" — 
" That wondrous locket might I see, 
Nor wrong thee, Arabel " — 
Sweet friend, thine shall the golden locket be, 
Nor dearer gift, though small, couldst ask of me." 



54 pirates' glen [can. it. 



XX. 

In tender, silent eloquence, 

They parted by the " Swallows' Cave.'* 
The sails, unfurled, are wafting thence 
That Cruiser of the wave. 
Ya-wa-ta's dream of bliss dissolves away ; 
lier sun goes down, and darkness ends the day ! 

XXI. 

Long gazing stood she by the cave ; 

Stood gazing, till her eye grew dim, 
On one who bore upon the wave 
Her heart away with him — 
Till lost to view. — When lo ! refracted high, (7) 
The parting ship rides proudly through the sky ! 

XXII. 

A sail above, a sail below — 

The thought, the thing, — a double sea, 
Like soul and body, onward go ! 
Which was reality ? 
The one, perchance, sank buried in the wave ; 
The other rose — to find a phantom grave ! 

XXIII. 

But where the boastful Spaniard ? "Where 

That bloodiest of the bJoody ? — Don, 
Thy ship, thy crew, thy captive fair, 
Thy gory gold — are gone ! 
Thou art alone ; thy own dark thoughts by day, 
And ghastly dreams by night, haunt thee for aye ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 55 



XXIV. 

In Dungeon Rock, i\ir, far away, 
Deep in the dismal wilderness, 
Alone the thwarted pirate lay, 
Asleep and motionless : 
Impending rocks, trees, clouds, and gloomiest night. 
Above him pressed, and walled from mortal sight. 

XXV. 

In dreams his happy childhood flits 

Before him now — the halcyon days 
Of innocence : a mother sits 
And sings ; a sister plays : 
Scene follows scene — wine, oaths, debauchery, 
Dice, daggers, blood, a murderer on the sea ! 

XXVI. 

Loud thunder roars ! — he half awakes : 

" 'T is but the blazing cannon's peal I" 
A louder clash — the cavern shakes : 
" T is but the vessel's reel ! 
She will outride the blast !" — A dazzling flash ! 
Awake I it is — the rumbling earthquake's crash !(11) 

XXVII. 

He started, like a maniac ; 

Dark — pitchy darkness walled him in I 
Again the deafening thunders crack ! 
Thy dungeon, man of sin, 
Behold ! is barred forever I — Thou shalt make, (5) 
In Dungeon Rock, love to the rattlesnake ! 



56 pirates' glen [can. iv. 



XXVIII. 

That night of terror passed away ; 

The birds sing sweetly as before ; 
The dew-drops sparkle to the day 
That dawns on Don — no more ! 
But one faint ray glares in, his sight to mock ; 
Crushed at the cavern's mouth lie tons of rock ! 

XXIX. 

The King of Terrors hovering nigh, 

! miserable man, prepare 
To meet thy God ! Prepare to die I 
There yet is time for prayer ! 
Thou 'rt in thy tomb ! — Death only shall unlock 
Thy spirit from its prison house of rock 1 

XXX. 

Heaven help thee, helpless man ! None hear 

Thy hammer pounding night and day ; 
Thy groans strike on no pitying ear ; 
Thou canst not break away ! 
Starvation clings thee — and afraid to go ? 
Thy dagger now might strike one friendly blow I 

XXXI. 

Pound, pound ! groan, groan ! thou dost but fright 
The wild-cat and the wolf — in vain ! 
** Ha ! ha ! that stone gives way ! the light 
Of day beams in again ! " — 
Prepare, prepare, to die ! Thou Jiast but made 
Passage to things that banc[uet on the dead ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON ROCK. 57 



xxxir. 

Exhausted, famished, trembling, wild, 

In all the agony of despair, 
He seized his dagger — and hideous smiled ! — 
Clorinda's blood is there ! 
He burls it to the ground. — Ha ! still afraid 
To go ? — Thou wilt not meet the murdered maid ! 

XXXIII. 

" Would God that I had never been ! 
I dare not face the innocent, 
The guilty witnesses of sin, 
This bloody hand hath sent 
Above — below ! — Live — die — repent — in vain 1 
One effort more — my hammer, once again !" 

XXXIV. 

'T is hard to die. Eternity 

Is full of darkness, doubts and fears ; 
And few the pilgrim souls that see, 
Beyond this vale of tears, 
A certain home. To cross Death's frightful flood, 
The good man shrinks — how dreads the man of blood ! 

XXXV. 

. One desperate effort still to make; 

He neared the narrow, rocky way, — 
When, lo ! a monster rattlesnake, 
Coiled at the entrance, lay ! 
'* My gun I" he cried, " one feast I yet may take, 
Before I die !" and leveled at the snake. 



58 pirates' glen [can. iv. 



XXXVI. 

Snap, snap ! the powder will not burn ; 
A horrid oath ! But still he stands, 
Aiming ! — Alas ! he cannot turn ! 
Fixed are his feet and hands I 
Eigid, immovable, the pirate, Don, 
Stands, like the statue of Laocoon ! 

XXXVII. 

The snake — the man-, linked eye to eye ! 

Ha ! pirate, art thou making love ? 
What cords of wondrous sympathy 
Bind thee, thou canst not move ? 
The serpent, that hath most of power to charra, 
Beware 1 — it hath like power to do thee harm I 

XXXVIII. 

Ah ! what bewitching tenderness, 

What wondrous, wild bewilderment, 
Hold thee entranced and motionless ? 
Those eyes all eloquent 
Of love, affection, that would die to bless — 
Thou hast no captive in thy soft caress ! 

XXXIX. 

Ah ! what delirium of delight ! 

All eye — all soul — the charmer seems ! 
A sun-set, mellow, rain-bow light 
The magic circle beams ! 
Celestial halos, round thee, wall thee in ! 
Thou art in Eden with — the serpent, sin ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON KOCK. 59 



XL. 

Melodious, on a neigliboring tree, 

Carols a joyfal bobolink ; 
Like some seraphic rhapsody, 
That floods the flowery brink 
Of streams Elysian, falls it on thine ears ! — 
List thou, for once, the music of the spheres ! 

XLI. 

Wave after wave harmonious swells, 

Sound circling sight — ring rolled on ring! 
Bugles of Heaven's own sentinels ! 
Flow'rs, gems and rainbows, sing I — 
How often with the stolen melody 
Of Heaven the Tempter wooes ! — He waits for thee! 

XLII. 

Those lips — pale lips — see how they move ! 
Hark, hark I I hear two serpents hiss! 
The snake, within thee, greets his love 
With one, long, soul-like kiss !— 
Ah! wretch, too long hast thou nurtured within 
Thy breast — thy master now — that monster, Sin ! 

XLIII. 

Ha ! dost thou now begin to feel, 

No friendly spirit holds thee bound ? 
The serpent's coils are coils of Steel ! 
Wilt tread him to the ground ? — 
He craves thy pity now ; too mild, too late, 
Ye twain are one — fast fettered, fate to fate I 
5 



60 pirates' glen [can. it. 



XLIV. 

Hearest thou thy threat to Arabel ? 

Cloiinda's supplicating cry? — 
Thou seest the snake ! — A fiend from hell, 
Hath come to bid thee die ! — 
*' Reptile, avaunt ! Eack to thy flames again ! 
Like red-hot steel, those eyeballs burn my brain!" 

XLV. 

Thou, — who didst mock the agonies 
Of many a bleeding, helpless one, 
Thinkest thou, the fiend will heed thy cries? 
Thou art a captive, Don ! 
The rain-bow walls are turned to walls of flame ! 
They scorch thy soul, they smell from whence they came ! 

XLVI. 

Thou art initiated now, 

Bound by the ties of spirit blood ! 
Love — pity, beams that serpent brow ; 
' The fiendish brotherhood 

Hath one disciple more. — The neophyte 
Again stands in delirium of delight ! 

XLVII. 

Celestial hues illume the dark — 

No more a cave — the fairy cell ; 
And echoing strains of music — hark ! 
Come they from Heaven, or Hell?— 
Deluded man ! it is a spirit band. 
Come to conduct thee to the Spirit-land ! 



CAN. IV.] AND DUNGEON KOCK. 61 



XL VIII. 

Prepare to go, — but thou art gone ! 

Thy Guardian Angel takes his flight, 
Weeping thy deeds of darkness done, 
Alone — to realms of light ! 
Thou hast thy choice — the angel, or the snake — 
No more. — One guide remains; him must thou take. 

XLIX. 

The charm advancing, soul with soul 

Will soon embrace, and thou shalt see — 

The fiend again ! — His coils unroll ! 

His fangs are fixed in thcc ! — 

The pirate falls. The rattle, groan, the gloom 

Of death, and silence, fill that dungeon tomb. 



Coiled on his breast the serpent sleeps ; 
His requiem sings the serpent's hiss. 
Nor friend, nor foe, his exit weeps. 
Who leads a life like this. — 
Thus fell, beneath the avenging earthquake shock, 
The fiend of Pirates' Glen in Dungeon Rock. 

THE END. 



NOTES. 



Note 1. — " Yawata, daughter of Nanapashemet, and sis- 
ter of three Sagamores There is great softness and 

euphony in the name of this Indess, Ya-wa-ta ; six letters, 
and only one hard consonant. Probably her heart was as 
delicate and feminine as her name. The early settlers indi- 
cated their poetic taste by calling her Abigail." 

" Swallows' Cave" is a spacious "passage beneath a high 
cliff, on the south-eastern part of Nahant. . . . The swallows 
formerly inhabited this cave in great numbers and built their 
nests on the irregularities of the rock above, but the multi- 
tude of visitors have frighted them mostly away." 

Note. 2. — "Nanapashemet, or the New Moon, was one of 
the greatest sachems in New England. . . . But his moon 
was now full and had begun to wane. He resided at Lynn 
until the great war of the Taratines. . . . Nanapashemet had 
three sons, Wonohaquaham, Montowampate, and Wenepaw- 
wekin, and a daughter, Yawata." History of Lynn. 

Note 3. — Shawmut, the Indian name of Boston. 

Note 4. — Senora, the Spanish for Mrs., or Ma^am. 

Note 5. — Rattlesnakes were formerly found in great abun- 
dance in this vicinity, and even now arc sometimes met with 
in the more secluded spots. I remember reading several 
stories, in which their well-known power of fascination is des- 
cribed ; and these, mutatis mutandis, I have attempted to 
follow at the close of Canto iv. 

Note 6. — " When the early settlers spoke of the larger 
promontory, they called it Nahant; but more commonly alter 



64 NOTES. 



the manner of the Indians, who talked of both together.as twin 
brotlicrs, they called them 'The Nahants.'" History of Lynn. 

Note 7. — " Sometimes the sun, when it rises through a 
dense atmosphere, appears greatly elongated in its vertical di- 
ameter. Presently it appears double, the two parts being con- 
nected together by a neck. At length two suns are distinctly 
seen ; the refracted sun appearing wholly above the Avater, 

before the true sun has risen This mirage, or loom, 

frequently causes Nahant, Egg Rock, and vessels on the coast, 
to appear nearly twice their natural height, and sometimes to 
seem actually elevated in the air, so as to leave a space be- 
neath them." History of Lynn^ ps. 36 and 37. 

Note. 8. — " When corn was boiled in kernels, it was 
called samp ; when parched and pounded in stone mortars, 
it was termed nokeJuJce.^^ History of Lynn, p. .55. 

Note 9. — The Iron Works, on Saugus river, " were car- 
ried on for several years with vigor, and furnished most of 
the iron used in the colony. . . . But they have long been 
discontinued, and nothing now is to be seen of them, except 
the heaps of scoria, nearly overgrown with grass, and called 
the ' Cinder Banks.'" History of Lynn, p. 154. 

Note 10. — The Indians were notorious "black legs." 
One of their games " was played with five flat pieces of bone, 
black on one side and white on the other. These were put 
into a wooden bowl, which was struck on the ground, caus- 
ing the bones to bound aloft, and as ihey fell white or black, 
the game was decided. During this play, the Indians sat in 
a circle, making a great noise, by the constant repetition of 
the word, huh, hub, — come, come, — from which it was called 
hubbub; a word, the derivation of which seems greatly to 
have puzzled Dr. Johnson." History of Lynn, p. 56. 

Note 11. — Seethe preface. 



3S/E-A.3E*, 



Lvnnfield. 



Salem. 




Maiden Chelsea. 



Swallows' Cave. 



ERRATA. 

Page 51, line 21, for " hugh " read " huge '♦. 
Page 52, Une 17, for " Behold » read " Beholds". 







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